Sound producing accessory for toys or the like



M. ROMAND May 28, 1968 SOUND PRODUCING ACCESSORY FOR TOYS OR THE LIKE Filed June 21, 1965 FiG.2

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FIG-4 States Patent Ofice 3,384,990 Patented May 28, 1968 3,384,990 SOUND PRODUCING ACCESSORY FOR TOYS OR THE LIKE Marcel Romand, Moirans en Montagne, Jura, France, assignor to Pierre Francois Seiller, Lagnieu, Ain, France Filed June 21, 1965, Ser. No. 465,399

Claims priority, application France, Sept. 15, 1964, 45,127, Patent 1,416,498 5 Claims. (Cl. 46-191) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sound producing accessory for a toy in which a hollow basin having inwardly directed radial bosses on a cylindrical rim receives the hub of a supply disc in a central opening in its base such that the disc partially closes the basin, a loose member being disposed within the basin and retained by the disc. The base of the disc may have an inwardly directed boss facing the disc and cooperating therewith to define a restricted path of travel for the loose member at the periphery of the basin.

Numerous toys, particularly carriages, wagons, merrygo-rounds and the like, are fitted with one or more sound producing accessories making their use more attractive for children.

Whether such accessories are formed by clappers, levers, balance wheels or other such devices, they are relatively complicated and furthermore since they are often subjected to rough treatment in use they do not usually work satisfactorily for any great length of time.

The object of the present invention is to overcome these disadvantages at least to some extent.

According to the present invention a sound producing accessory for toys or the like comprises a basin having inwardly directed radial bosses on a cylindrical rim thereof, the base of said basin being provided at its center with a circular opening, a hub of a disc of flexible material being supported in said opening so that the disc at least partially closes the basin, a loose member being disposed within said basin and adapted to be retained therein by said disc, and a rod serving as the rotational axis of the assembly of the basin and disc being fixed to said hub.

When the disc and the basin are rotated by the supporting rod, the loose member which is preferably constituted as a ball strikes the bosses on the basin in sequence emitting the same number of successive sounds.

In this embodiment, the axis of rotation should be horizontal to ensure good working of the accessory. In effect, the ball is thrown towards the periphery of the basin by gravity.

In order that the accessory may be used whatever may be the position of its rotational axis, including the vertical position, the base of the basin includes an inwardly directed central boss ensuring the throwing of the ball towards the periphery of the basin.

In order to improve the connection between the basin and the hub of the disc, the latter includes a groove in which the rim of the central opening of the basin is engaged.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, wherein it is applied to a rolling toy, the disc retaining the ball has an external rim of curved shape overlapping the basin in the form of a wheel and the rotational axis of the accessory is formed by one of the axles of the toy.

The invention will be readily understood from the following description with reference to the several figures of the accompanying drawing which show, by way of example only, two embodiments of the invention.

In the drawing:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are front and side elevation views respectively of a first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar to that of FIG. 3 of a second embodiment.

Referring now to FIGS. l-3 it will be seen that the sound producing accessory includes a metal basin 2 receiving a ball 3 of metal, glass or other hard material, and a disc 4 serving to retain the ball 3 in the basin 2.

The cylindrical rim 2a of the basin 2 includes bosses 5 projecting radially inwards into the interior of the basin and its base 2b includes a central boss 6 projecting axially and inwardly into the interior of the basin. The basin 2 with the bosses 5 and 6 can be easily produced by stamping.

A circular hole 7 is formed in the center of the boss 6 for engagement on a hub 4a of the disc 4. The connection between the disc 4 and the basin 2 is improved by the presence of a groove 8 into which penetrates the edge of the basin 2 surrounding the hole 7. The disc 4, which is to ensure the retention of the ball 3 inside the basin 2 should however allow free movement of the 'ball in the basin 2.

Furthermore the distance between the disc 4 and the base 2b of the basin 2 should be such that there is no risk of jamming of the ball 3 between these parts.

Consequently the presence of the groove 8 facilitates the assembly of this accessory by determining absolutely the respective positions of the basin 2 and disc 4.

Finally a rod 9 acting as the rotational axis of the accessory is secured in the base of the hub 4a.

The sounds emitted by the accessory are caused by the successive blows of the ball 3 against the bosses 5 of the basin 2. The presence of the shoulder 61: of the boss 6 helps to throw the ball 3 in the direction of the rim 2a of the basin 2 even when the eifect of gravity is cancelled by vertical positoning of the rod 9.

FIG. 4 shows another eembodiment of this sound producing accessory, in which the disc 4 is replaced by a disc 11 whose outer rim overlaps the basin and has a shape conforming to that of the wheel of a rolling toy. Obviously this embodiment is provide-d for application to a rolling toy such as a small car, wagon or the like.

It will be appreciated that it is not intended to limit the invention to the above examples only, many variations, such as might readily occur to one skilled in the art, being possible, without departing from the scope thereof.

Thus, for example, the accessory may be used for any toy, for example a merry-go-round rotating about a vertical axis.

In the same way, in this example a ball has been used but any other solid body having a regular or irregular surface could have been used.

What is claimed is:

1. A sound producing accessory for toys comprising a hollow basin including a base and a cylindrical rim, said basin having inwardly directed radial bosses on said cylindrical rim, the base of said basin being provided with a central circular opening, a disc of supple material, a hub on said disc adapted to be located in said opening so that the disc partially closes the basin and forms an annular space therebetween, a loose member freely disposed within said basin and retained therein by said disc, and a rod secured in said hub and serving as the rotational axis of the assembly of the basin and disc.

2. A sound producing accessory according to claim 1 wherein said loose member is a ball having a diameter approximately equal to the distance between the base of the basin and the disc whereby the ball in part projects into said annular space.

3. A sound producing accessory according to claim 2 wherein said base of the basin has a central inwardly directed boss facing said disc and cooperating therewith to define a restriced path of travel for the loose member at the periphery of the basin.

4. A sound producing accessory according to claim 1 wherein the hub of the disc is provided with a groove in which the rim of the central opening of the basin is 10 engaged whereby to support and position the disc and basin.

5. An accessory according to claim 1 adapted for References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1951 Schultz 46-191 X 2/1966 Conaghan 46189 X 

